Credit regulator to educate

The National Credit Regulator (NCR) will be hosting a workshop in Katlehong on November 17 on an initiative to educate consumers in Katlehong on the National Credit Act (NCA), debt counselling, their consumer rights and credit-related responsibilities.

The workshop will be held at Ekurhuleni School for the Deaf.

Statistics show that there are about 24.59 million credit-active consumers in South Africa and of this number, 38.9 per cent, which is 9.6 million consumers, unfortunately, have impaired records.

An impaired record is a record in which a consumer and/or any of the accounts are either classified as three or more payments or months in arrears, have an adverse listing, have a judgment or an administration order.

The NCR will be providing consumers with guidance on how to manage their debts, what debt counselling is, how does it work and also dispel the myths associated with debt counselling and the roles of credit bureaus.

Kedilatile Legodi, manager for debt counselling at the NCR, said the NCR will be educating, raising awareness and empowering consumers on how to handle credit and/or debt-related problems.

She said there are many reasons why people find themselves in financial distress, such as the recession, change in circumstances like divorce or death, poor financial planning and others. These may cause consumers to find they are no longer able to pay their monthly debt repayments.

Legodi said consumers who are in this situation should not hide or feel despondent as there could be assistance for them in the form of debt counselling. Debt counselling is a debt relief measure in terms of the NCA that aims to provide relief for consumers who are struggling with debt This service is only offered by debt counsellors who are registered with the NCR.

The NCR has also invited different stakeholders dealing with consumer-related issues who will be present at the workshop. Consumers are, therefore, encouraged to attend this workshop and use the opportunity to engage the NCR on any credit-related query and/or complaint they may have.

“A consumer who is educated on his/her rights is a protected one,” concludes Legodi.